This Year's Going His Way
by HansonFanGermany
Summary: Hotch decides it's time to spend more time with his team, with surprising results for him and Rossi. CCOAC challenge contribution.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Here's my contribution to the **_**Challenge From The Other Challenges**_**. The prompt I received was, **_**'Hotch decides it's time to spend more time with his team'**_**, and the pairing is **_**Hotch/Rossi,_ coming originally from the New Year's Challenge_**_**. **_

_**This will be slash (no smut), and AU in that I'm ignoring the existence of Beth and the triathlon storyline for the purpose of this story. **_

_**Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and its characters don't belong to me, I'm just borrowing them. **_

* * *

**This Year's Going His Way**

Chapter 1

* * *

The year 2011 was turbulent one for Aaron Hotchner and his team. The "death" of Emily Prentiss, the return of Jennifer Jareau to the unit, temporary and permanent reassignments, and ultimately Emily's "resurrection" left a mark on them all, on the group of people who considered themselves as much a family as they were colleagues.

Aaron knew that with the decisions he had made surrounding Emily's faked demise, keeping secrets from his friends, he needed to work hard to get their full trust back.

Which was the reason why on New Year's Eve he made the first resolution in longer than he could remember. It was also the only resolution in his adult life that he managed to keep.

Dave Rossi, his closest friend and confidant, had convinced him to spend the last evening of 2011 together when he had realized that they both were the only ones without plans for the night.

At a quarter to midnight Dave had decided it was time for resolutions and that had resulted in Aaron declaring to spend more time with his team outside of work.

It was a good idea. Dave thought so, too, and Aaron hoped it would help them all, but especially Morgan and Reid, get over their trust issues towards him.

So, the first time he put his plan into action was a couple of weeks later when they'd returned from a particularly long and hard case.

It was a Friday night and they all knew they needed to do something to unwind. Garcia suggested going to her favorite bar, exchanging glances and smirks with JJ and Emily, which should have alarmed Aaron right away. True to his word to Dave, though, he didn't hesitate to come along and almost regretted his decision to ever have made this resolution when upon their arrival it turned out the quirky tech analyst had signed them up for the bar's weekly Karaoke night.

In the end, he had no reason for regret.

They had a wonderful time and he had to admit that he hadn't had that much fun since before his divorce. He and Dave were the highlight of the evening with their almost perfect rendition of Sonny and Cher's 'I Got You, Babe'.

Well, them and Reid, whom the three women had managed to get drunk within the first hour and well before his turn on stage. Then he had to sing Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'.

And thanks to Garcia he was going to be able to show his future grandchildren a video of how much fun he had that night.

Reid's misfortune, or rather, lack of talent, was the highlight of the team's next night out as well, when they went bowling together.

This time Ashley Seaver also tagged along, and so it was decided, with Garcia and Morgan being the driving force behind it, that the women would team up against the men.

If it hadn't been for Aaron, who had to confess that bowling had been his favorite hobby during highschool and college, the guys would have lost by a mile. Instead, the women only won by a few points in the end.

And poor Reid could add a video of his attempts at this sport to the growing collection he'd be able to show his hypothetical kids.

The next time they went to dinner together to one of DC's finest Italian restaurants, thanks to Dave's connections getting them reservations at the place that was normally booked out for months.

It was a nice, relaxing evening with interesting conversations, fantastic food and even better wine.

Afterwards it was Aaron, who suggested concluding the night at a bar, and he and Dave ended up staying much longer than anyone, getting drunk together.

They somehow managed to get into a cab, driving them to Dave's mansion.

The next morning they woke up in Dave's king-sized bed, extremely hung over, wearing nothing but their boxer shorts, entangled in each other's arms.

Not being able to remember how they got there or what happened, if anything at all, they both swore to lay off alcohol for a while.

Still, Aaron couldn't help but feel disappointed when Dave suggested never mentioning this to anyone. It had felt amazing lying in his arms, safe and comforting, and even through the blur of his hangover induced headache Aaron noticed how incredibly right it seemed to be.

They didn't speak much for the rest of the morning, both lost in their thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

**This Year's Going His Way**

Chapter 2

* * *

The team had been busy for quite some time after that. Back to back cases kept them away from home the majority of the time, and Aaron spent all the spare time he had with his son Jack.

With Dave he hadn't been able to talk to about the other night. Not for lack of trying, though. Dave was the one who went out of his way to avoid Aaron, keeping what little conversation they had strictly professional and job-related.

All Aaron knew was that Dave's odd behavior was somehow related to their night together, although he had no idea why Dave was acting like that. Well, that was not entirely true. He had a feeling that, unlike himself, Dave was only pretending that he didn't remember what happened between them that night.

Still, Aaron didn't know what could have been so bad that his best friend wasn't able to look him in the eyes anymore.

So what if they had kissed?

So what if they'd had sex?

Aaron had his doubts that the latter had happened; they certainly would have noticed that.

Yet, the logical, rational and most importantly, adult reaction would be to talk about it, not to run away.

None of the possible scenarios of the night warranted that kind of behavior in Aaron's opinion. In fact, the more he thought about it – and for the past weeks that had literally been all he did whenever he had a moment for himself – the more he realized how much he actually liked those scenarios.

Especially at night, Dave was ever present in his Aaron's mind.

He remembered how Dave had smelled. His steady heartbeat that he'd listened to lying on his broad chest. And most of all, he remembered the comfort and warmth Dave's arms had provided.

With all those memories occupying his thoughts, Aaron had trouble sleeping, and if he did fall asleep eventually, he could be sure Dave would be the one starring in his dreams, too.

Aaron knew he had to do something, anything, because they certainly could not go on like that forever.

.~.~.~.

"Where's Uncle Dave?" Jack asked his father as they were getting ready to leave for Jack's soccer game on Saturday morning.

It was the first game of the season and both father and son were glad Aaron could be there for it. Hotch's ex-sister-in-law Jessica had taken the boy to the training the last couple of times while Aaron and Dave were away on a case, and another parent had temporarily taken over the coaching.

Usually Dave would meet with the two Hotchners at their residence and they would drive to the games together.

Today, however, he hadn't shown up yet.

He'd briefly informed Aaron the evening before that he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it, citing the upcoming deadline for the first draft of his new book as an excuse. Aaron had immediately seen through this, certain it was just another way for Dave to avoid him, and had become incredibly pissed with his friend.

Before he was able to call him out on it, Strauss had knocked on his office door, having a few questions regarding some case files. When she was gone again, Dave had left the office.

Now hearing Jack's innocently curious question, Aaron made a quick decision. Whatever was going on with Dave, it would end today. He wasn't willing to tolerate this attitude from him anymore.

"We'll pick him up this time, Buddy," he told his son.

It was still early and they had more than enough time to stop by Dave's place. God help him if he wasn't home!

.~.~.~.

Twenty minutes later they stopped in front of Dave's mansion. Aaron smirked contentedly to himself upon seeing his car in the driveway.

Briefly debating with himself if he should let Jack wait in the car while he went to get Dave, he realized it would certainly be more effective to show up on Dave's doorstep with his son in tow. Dave had never been able to say no to Jack, especially not when his boy was looking up at him with his big brown eyes.

"Come on, Buddy, let's see if Uncle Dave is ready to see us."

After ringing the doorbell, they stood and waited for quite a while. Dave's dog Mudgie could be heard barking from the inside, but other than that nothing happened.

"I swear to God, if you're ignoring us on purpose, Dave…," Aaron muttered slightly angered to himself, careful not to let Jack hear it.

"Is Uncle Dave not at home?" The boy wondered out loud.

Thankfully, Aaron was saved from having to answer. They finally heard Dave's heavy steps approaching, and moments later the door opened.

"What the-" Dave started, but then noticed Jack next to Aaron and the words died in his throat.

"Good morning, Uncle Dave! You ready to go?" Jack greeted him cheerfully, bouncing up and down.

Aaron wore a big grin on his face, daring Dave to argue with that.

Taking a deep breath, Dave realized he couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse, and the last thing he wanted was to disappoint Jack.

"Sure, Champ, just let me get Mudgie's leash and my keys and wallet," replied, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Yay!" Jack kneeled down to greet Mudgie, too, squealing when the dog licked over his face.

Dave shot Aaron a dark, angry glare before going back inside to get his things.

While Jack and Mudgie already ran ahead to the car, Aaron waited for Dave.

"Resorting to blackmail now, Aaron?" Dave bit out angrily while locking up his door.

"Whatever works to get you to talk to me," Aaron shrugged unapologetically.

"I don't have anything to say," Dave retorted.

"Well, I have," Aaron said harshly. "If you think you'll be able to avoid me forever, you're painfully mistaken."

"Dad! Uncle Dave! You comin'?" Jack called out to them, interrupting their little heart-to-heart.

"We'll talk later!" Aaron decided. "And I swear to God, Dave, if you so much as try to take off again, you'll know me."

Aaron stomped off without waiting for an answer and Dave sighed deeply before following him to the car.


	3. Chapter 3

**This Year's Going His Way**

Chapter 3

* * *

The game was going really well. Jack's team quickly scored two goals, having come a long way from when they first started out.

Aaron and Dave were watching from the sideline, occasionally cheering on the kids.

Their thoughts, however, were somewhere else entirely.

"You're a coward, Dave," Aaron suddenly said, before he could stop himself.

He kept staring ahead onto the field, where Jack was currently kicking the ball, missing the goal only by centimeters.

"Good job, Buddy!" He praised his son, who was smiling widely at him.

"I know," Dave answered his question.

Another few moments of silence passed.

"I'm sorry, Aaron."

"You should be," Aaron said shortly.

More silence.

"What the fuck is going on with you? Do you really think ignoring me is solving whatever problem you have with me?" Aaron burst out.

"It has always worked before," Dave shrugged.

"As three failed marriages have clearly shown," Aaron retorted sarcastically.

"Aaron-"

The crowd cheered at Jack's team scoring another goal, pulling the two men from their thoughts and conversation.

"Yeah!" They belatedly chimed in, high-fiving with the kids running over to them.

"I don't have a problem with you, Aaron," Dave said as the game continued.

"Could have fooled me."

"That night…I…"

He didn't finish the sentence but lowered his head and looked down on the ground.

"You, what, Dave?" Aaron bit out impatiently.

"I kissed you, okay? And you kissed me back. And that made me so damn horny. I don't think I've ever had to bring up that much self-control before. All I wanted was to fuck you and make you mine. But we were both too drunk, and I couldn't take advantage of you like that. I thought maybe when we were both sober again, we could… I don't know, talk about doing it again. But then you didn't even remember anything and I was so embarrassed, and…"

Dave stopped mid-rant, breathless.

He hadn't spoken loud enough for anyone to hear, with all the noise and cheering around them, but he still glanced around to see if anyone was watching them. Glad that this didn't seem to be the case, he turned to Aaron again.

The younger man was staring at him, stunned into temporary silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked finally.

Dave looked away again.

"I don't know. I mean, you're my best friend and… I guess I was afraid to make a fool of myself. You were drunk, Aaron, and you obviously didn't know what you were doing."

"You were just as drunk, Dave," Aaron reminded him.

"I know, but-" Dave stopped before finishing his sentence again.

"But what?" Aaron probed. It was now or never to bring the older man next to him to admit having feelings Aaron hoped he had.

"I knew exactly what I was doing. I wanted you. _Want_ you. I've wanted you for so long, and with that much alcohol in my blood, well, I just went for it."

That was what he wanted to hear. Aaron grinned contently.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He said.

Surprised by this reaction, Dave glanced at him.

"You knew?"

"No, I didn't. Not for sure." Aaron shook his head. "But I've hoped."

His eyes softened as he looked at Dave.

"I didn't think you'd run away from me like a coward."

"I'm really sorry, Aaron."

Aaron nodded.

Their eyes met and they smiled softly at each other, and from one second to the next the deep understanding that had always been between them had returned.

Of course, Aaron knew they'd still have to talk about how to go on from there, but a start was made.

A loud whistle finally brought their attention back to the soccer game.

Jack and the other kids of the team were running excitedly towards them, the other parents were getting up from their seats, applauding and cheering enthusiastically.

"We won!" Jack screamed happily, his voice toppling over. "We won, Dad! Uncle Dave!"

"Yeah, I saw it!" Aaron lied, hoping Jack wouldn't notice.

He felt guilty for lying and for missing practically the whole game, but he didn't want to diminish his son's joy.

They made their usual tunnel for the kids and cheered and celebrated with them.

After some brief conversations with the other parents, and goodbyes to the opposing team, the three made their way back to the car.

"How about a barbecue at my place tonight?" Dave suggested.

"Yay!" Jack immediately agreed, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Sounds good," Aaron agreed, too, his smile wide, happy and full of hope of everything that was still to come.

Jack took Mudgie from the leash and together they ran the last few meters to the car.

Aaron and Dave followed at a slower pace.

"You know, I want at least a goodnight kiss tonight," Aaron told Dave.

"I'll give you anything you want, Aaron." The grin on Dave's face said it all. Now that it was clear they both wanted the same thing, he was back to being his usual, confident self.

"You should." He leaned into Dave and whispered in his ear, "so far, everything has been going my way this year. I don't plan on changing that anytime soon."

Dave's eyes followed him as he walked around the car to the driver's side and got in.

"We'll see," Dave muttered to himself, his smirk reaching from one ear to the other as his formed a plan in his head of what he would do to Aaron once Jack was asleep tonight.

In the end, they both got exactly what they wanted and much, much more.

.~.~.~.

_The End_

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_**A/N: Many, many thanks for all the wonderful reviews again! I've greatly appreciated all of your comments! I'm glad you've all enjoyed the story! Hope you liked this last chapter, too! Thanks for reading!**_


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